Will the political change at the head of the Hebrew state take place? Israeli President Isaac Herzog officially charged Gadi Eisenkot on Saturday, November 7, with forming the next Israeli government. The legislative elections of October 27 did not produce a clear winner or majority.
Will this former chief of staff be Israel's next leader, and with what coalition behind him? Franceinfo takes stock of recent political negotiations in Tel Aviv.
## The opposition calls for a “national emergency government” from left to right
Gadi Eisenkot spoke of "significant progress" in the ongoing negotiations on Friday. “Many meetings have taken place, some made public, others not. Some were held just a few hours ago (...) We have made important progress and obtained decisive advances,” he declared on X.
Leaders of the “change bloc”, who support his candidacy, met on Tuesday for the first time since the election. They affirmed their common desire to replace the outgoing power – an alliance between the right and the far right – with a “national emergency government”, without however specifying how. The components of this central bloc also “reaffirmed their total commitment to respect the decision of the Israeli voters, who voted clearly and resolutely for change and against the continuation of the mandate of the current government.”
The opposition camp currently brings together a wide range of parties, from the left to the Israeli nationalist right. Beyond his political background, Yashar, Gadi Eisenkot has the support of Yaïr Golan's Democrats, Naftali Bennett's Ensemble party and even Israel Beitenou, Avigdor Liberman's political force, details Haaretz. But at this stage, the "change bloc", which proposed on Tuesday the establishment of a "Zionist government", seems to rule out any potential agreement with the Israeli Arab parties.
## A division in the face of support from Israeli Arab parties
The possible alliance between the opposition bloc and the Arab parties remains a central element of the negotiations, since it would allow the Eisenkot camp to build a majority in the Knesset. Two Israeli Arab groups, the Joint List and Raam (or "Joint Arab List"), together obtained 19 seats in the Israeli Parliament, which constitutes a real breakthrough during these legislative elections. In recent days, they have each confirmed their support for Gadi Eisenkot to form the next government.
“The Joint List parliamentary group has decided to recommend Gadi Eisenkot to form the next government,” Raam said in a statement on Wednesday. “We extend our hand to support the efforts” of the opposition leader, and “we will do what we can to remove the government of Benyamin Netanyahu,” also declared the leader of the party, Mansour Abbas. On Thursday, the Joint List in turn announced that it was recommending the former chief of staff for the constitution of a new coalition. A response to "popular demand aimed at preventing the return to power of Netanyahu and his government", she underlined.
But the support of these political forces, even indirect, is "firmly" rejected by one of the faces of the opposition bloc, the nationalist Avigdor Liberman, former minister in several Netanyahu governments between 2009 and 2018. The leader of the Israel Beitenou party, on the other hand, lifted his veto to a possible alliance with ultra-Orthodox groups, saying he was ready to "compromise", particularly on the subject of conscription. The current context involves making “difficult decisions,” he said, according to Times of Israel. Two ultra-Orthodox parties, Shas and United Torah Judaism (JUT), together have 13 seats in the Knesset, which, if agreed, would allow Gadi Eisenkot to benefit from a very narrow majority.
## Benyamin Netanyahu continues attacks and accusations of interference
The United Torah Judaism party said Thursday that it would not recommend Benjamin Netanyahu for the formation of a new government following the elections. “Our main mission is to guarantee the status of Torah students, through legislation and without sanctions,” said party leader Yitzhak Goldknopf, quoted by Haaretz. A way of marking its opposition to the conscription of religious students, a subject of tension, while the Israeli army is mobilized on multiple fronts, from the Gaza Strip to South Lebanon via the occupied West Bank. This announcement is a disavowal for the outgoing head of government, who usually benefits from the support of this ultra-Orthodox party.
Benyamin Netanyahu said he was “open to dialogue” in these talks for a new coalition. He nevertheless attacks Arab Israeli groups, accusing them of being "supporters of terrorism" wishing to "Islamize Israel". According to his camp, these parties bought votes with money from Qatar. Accusations without any proof at this stage, and largely rejected by those concerned.
On Wednesday, the current head of government again affirmed that "there are serious suspicions that foreign states have committed considerable sums to influence the results of the elections in Israel." The Electoral Commission, however, claimed to have carried out extensive checks, which revealed “no irregularities or evidence indicating that the integrity of the elections was compromised or that the results were altered”.
With 46 elected officials (and not 53 without the support and seven seats of JUT), the Netanyahu camp is still looking for alliances. According to Haaretz, Transport Minister Miri Regev, from Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party, proposed discussions with several faces from the opposition bloc. The Minister of Education, Yoav Kisch, suggested a unity government around Zionist parties.
